As the demand for diesel boiling range fuel increases worldwide there is increasing interest in sources other than petroleum crude oil for producing diesel boiling range fuel. One such renewable source is what has been termed renewable sources. These renewable sources include, but are not limited to, plant oils such as corn, rapeseed, canola, soybean and algal oils, animal fats such as inedible tallow, fish oils and various waste streams such as yellow and brown greases and sewage sludge. The common feature of these sources is that they are composed of glycerides and Free Fatty Acids (FFA). Both of these classes of compounds contain aliphatic carbon chains having from about 8 to about 24 carbon atoms. Most of the aliphatic chains in the glycerides or FFAs can be fully saturated, or mono, di or poly-unsaturated.
There are reports in the art disclosing the production of hydrocarbons from oils. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,009 discloses the use of crystalline aluminosilicate zeolites to convert plant oils such as corn oil to hydrocarbons such as gasoline and chemicals such as para-xylene. U.S. Pat. No. 4,992,605 discloses the production of hydrocarbon products in the diesel boiling range by hydroprocessing vegetable oils such as canola or sunflower oil. Finally, US 2004/0230085 A1 discloses a process for treating a hydrocarbon component of biological origin by hydrodeoxygenation followed by isomerization.
Applicants have developed a process which integrates an oil extraction process with the generation of diesel boiling range fuel, or fuel blending component from a renewable feedstock. The diesel boiling range fuel production process comprises one or more steps to hydrogenate, decarboxylate, decarbonylate (and/or hydrodeoxygenate) and optionally isomerize the renewable feedstock. Naphtha is separated from the hydrocarbon product of the reaction zones. The naphtha is used as an extraction solvent in a process to extract the renewable feedstock oils or fats from the source of the oils or fats.